Book Review: Ghost Flower by Michele Jaffe

Eve Brightman is tough. In and out of foster homes from a young age, she knows how to survive on next to nothing. When a glamorous pair of siblings approach her with a mysterious proposal involving a lot of money, she is torn. Her instinct warns her off- but then her boss tries to assault her and she loses her job. Suddenly $100,000 cash, even for a shady deal shrouded in secrecy, seems like a pretty appealing option.

Eve bears a startling resemblance to siblings Bain and Bridgette's cousin Aurora, who disappeared three years before. Now, with Aurora set to inherit a fortune on her eighteenth birthday, the pair want to get their hands on the money without having to wait the usual four years before a missing person is declared dead. And so begins a Pygmallion-style grooming process, where tough street urchin Eve is forced to learn which fork to use when, and to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the illustrious Silverton dynasty's entire family tree and history.

Once she has been introduced and accepted back into the family, the real test starts. When will she slip up? What are the twins really up to and why does she feel as though there is something she isn't being told? And what is the terrifying whispering that happens outside her room late at night?

I read Michele Jaffe's last book Rosebush and really enjoyed it so I was very excited to read her latest book, Ghost Flower.
Eve Brightman is desperate and can't say no when Bain and Bridgette off her $100,000 to impersonate their cousin who disappeared on the night that her best friend Elizabeth was found dead. The twins have it all planned out so Eve thinks that nothing can go wrong but she really has no idea what she is getting herself into. Eve looks exactly like Aurora and the Silverton family accept her return but Eve is soon in much deeper than she expected to be. Everyone seems to have their own secrets about Aurora and nobody will reveal what really happened on the night of her disappearance. Aurora and Elizabeth apparently left a party together so how did one girl end up dead and the other missing?
Eve is totally freaked out when she hears strange whisperings outside of her bedroom door at night and receives phone calls from Elizabeth; how can she be contacting her when she is dead and what is she trying to warn her about?
Michele Jaffe has written another superb mystery. I was completely drawn into the story and we see everything through Eve's eyes so we experience the twists and turns as she does. Jaffe creates suspense from the very beginning, will Eve get caught out, why is everyone hiding something, who killed Elizabeth and what will their reaction be to Aurora's return?
I highly recommend Michele Jaffe's books, just be prepared that you won't be able to put them down.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4/5

Many thanks to Atom for sending me a copy of this book to review, Ghost Flower is out now.

Book Review: Trapped by Michael Northrop

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive.
Scotty and his friends are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day and they soon realise that no one is coming to get them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall.
But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze and the roof shudders. As the days add up the snow piles higher and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision. 

I really liked the sound of this book and thought that the striking simplicity of the cover was excellent too. Scotty and his friends are the last seven kids left at the school. The rest of the kids went home when the blizzard started but this lot are still waiting for someone to come and get them. At first it seems like a big adventure, a bit of fun, but the snow gradually gets higher and higher, then the lights and the heat go out. What of no one is coming, how long can they really last in the freezing cold conditions?
I think that Michael Northrop's idea for this YA book is excellent and in the main, I really enjoyed reading it. Northrop really captures the many different emotions, the initial excitement and then the fear begins to kick in. The only thing that I struggled with was the pace, there were a few parts in the book where hardly anything happened and then the pace would suddenly pick up again. I felt that the author was extremely good at giving the reader the feeling of being trapped; the descriptions of the snow building up and taking the light with it really creeped me out.
Overall, I think this book was very good and YA readers will love it. It's one of those books that puts you in a situation and makes you wonder how you would handle it, how would you survive? It's perfect for this time of year so curl up and give it a go.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 3.5/5

Many thanks to Atom for sending me a copy of this book to review, Trapped is published on December 22nd.

Book Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum + Give away!!

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister Georgia and I were orphans. We put our loves into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent. Mysterious, sexy and unnervingly charming. Vincent appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk everyday. He also has enemies...immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

Can I risk putting my heart as well as my life and my family's in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Firstly let me say that the cover for this book is beautiful, it really captures the romantic nature of the story, especially with the Paris backdrop.
Die For Me is the first in the Revenants series by Amy Plum and what a brilliant beginning- this is one of the best paranormal, young adult books that I have read in a long time.
A revenant is an immortal being; in certain circumstances, people who die in the place of others come back to life 3 days later. They then continually save others even if that means dying again, they will always return to life unless someone burns their body, that is the only way they can truly die. Vincent is a revenant and he has fallen for Kate, who is only just getting over the death of her parents so the idea of being with someone who is going to have multiple deaths absolutely terrifies her.
Vincent is not alone, he lives with his 'uncle' Jean Baptiste and more of his kindred, as they call themselves, Charlotte, Charles, Ambrose and Gaspard. They work together to save the lives of others across the city of Paris.
The revenants have a major enemy in the Numa, they are the complete opposite, they have gained their immortality by taking the lives of others. Once immortal they continue to try and murder people, which is what the revenants have to work to prevent.
Kate has no contact with the Numa until the end of the book. A rescue attempt goes wrong and Charles cannot handle what happened and so he turns to the Numa to end it all for him. Lucien is head of the Paris Numa and is happy to take advantage of Charles' misfortune, especially as it means that he can gain revenge on Vincent who is his sworn enemy. However, Lucien didn't imagine that Vincent would ever fall in love with a human and so Kate finds herself in mortal danger and Lucien knows that Vincent will do anything to protect her.
Amy Plum has created such a beautiful story, I loved the romantic idea of the revenants, they are like angels on earth. Vincent is a very attractive character and I can see why Kate falls for him. Kate is a very likable character too but she is very vulnerable so it is understandable that she questions this new relationship. Kate needs somebody like Vincent but she has to decide if she will be able to cope with the fact that she will lose him again and again.
I'm so excited that this is just the first in the series as I just want to know more and more. Vincent and Kate's story will have great appeal for the YA market and I believe it will easily cross the gap to slightly older readers.
If you like your books with a paranormal edge then give this one a go, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Many thanks to Atom for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out on May 26th!

I actually have a copy of Die For Me to give away to any UK followers. If you would like a chance to read this book then please leave a comment below this post, the comment must include your email address so that I can contact the winner. This give away is open until midnight on Tuesday May 24th, good luck!!

Book Review: Rosebush by Michele Jaffe + Win a copy of the book!

Jane doesn't remember being hit by a car and left for dead. But as she's convalescing she realises that her friends stories and her memories of what happened that night aren't adding up.
Very soon the only thing she does know is that one of her friends was trying to kill her. One of them still is...

Firstly I would like to say that the cover for this book is brilliant, one of my favourite so far this year. What's inside isn't too bad either. Jane wakes up in hospital after being run over. She was found in a rosebush, the driver did not stop to help. Jane's memory is fuzzy to say the least, she remembers being at a party with her friends but no idea how she ended up in intensive care, unable to move her legs.
Jane has a lot of friends, her best friends being Kate and Langley, or the three musketeers as they like to call themselves. Both friends were there as was her boyfriend David but they all seem unable to shed any light on the matter. Jane then starts receiving creepy gifts at the hospital and phone calls from someone saying they will be coming to finish her off properly this time. The doctors and even her own mother don't believe her, putting it down to hallucinations caused by all the medications she is on. But Jane knows she's not hallucinating, she can't believe it but she knows that one of her friends tried to kill her and will be coming back to finish off the job.
Michele Jaffe has written a very clever thriller. That fact that Jane is so helpless in her hospital bed just makes the whole situation even more desperate. The story takes place over 5 days so the pace is pretty fast, with short chapters leaving you wanting more. There were several twists that I didn't see coming and the last few chapters had me holding my breath.
Rosebush is going to appeal to many young adult readers. I agree with Atom that there are not enough young adult thriller writers, I think that Michele Jaffe will be a leading light.

Many thanks to Atom for sending me a copy of this book to review.

I have a copy of this brilliant book to give away to any UK readers! All you need to do is leave me a comment with your email address. This competition will remain open until Midnight on March 30th and I shall pick a winner. Any comments without email addresses will not be entered! Good luck! 

Book Review: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the Warrior, Ivy the healer, and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal bot, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone- especially herself. 

Bethany, Ivy and Gabriel are sent on a mission to Venus Cove; it is Bethany's first earth-bound mission but those up above believe that she is ready for it. She does very well until she falls for Xavier, she literally falls in love with him which was not part of the plan. Xavier knows there is something different about Bethany but he has no idea that she has wings and normally lives in Heaven. As dark forces start to get a hold of things in Venus Cove, Gabriel, Ivy and Bethany realise that their position could be threatened, as could the safety of those that they have become close to.
Halo is a brilliant book and I was completely in awe when I got to the end and read that the author is only eighteen. I think that Alexandra Adornetto really captures the heady feelings of falling in love for the first time. This is heightened for Bethany and Xavier due to what she is. I loved how their relationship developed throughout the book, I found it entirely  believable.
Halo will appeal to young adult readers and also those a little bit older. I am hoping that Alexandra Adornetto will continue the story in further books as I would really like to know what happens next.

Many thanks to Atom for sending me a copy of this book to review, Halo is published in the UK today.

Nightshade Blog Tour Extract Plus Review

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is being published by Atom on 28th December, today at Dot Scribbles we are hosting a day of the blog tour, here's the idea behind the book:

She can control her pack but not her heart. "I wanted him to kiss me, wished he could smell the desire that I knew was pouring off me. You can't Calla. This boy isn't the one for you. Calla Tor has always known her destiny: graduation, marriage and then a life leading her pack. But when she defies her master's laws to save a human boy, she must choose. Is one boy worth losing everything?

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is a young adult fiction book that I will think will appeal to many readers upon publication next week.
The book has a huge mythological element to it, centered around the main character Calla Tor. There is a very strict hierarchy in Calla's world; she is a Guardian which means she is a wolf, her packs job is to protect the Keepers who are in charge of pretty much everyone and are not to be messed with.
Calla has the extra burden of being the alpha female of her pack, the Nightshades. She has always known that it will fall to her to make a union with Ren who is the alpha male of the Bane pack of wolves. Calla had accepted her future destiny and then Shay comes along, he is a human whose life Calla saved rather than going with her natural instinct to kill.
Ren and Shay both want Calla and it is easy to see why she is torn between the two as they are both good, neither is the villain. Andrea Cremer really does build up the tension between these three characters, it definitely keeps you turning the pages.
Nightshade leaves you on the edge of your seat at the very end, to find out what happens next we will have to wait for the second book, Wolfsbane which will be out in 2011, I think this is set to be a very exciting series.

Atom have very kindly given me an excerpt to share with you, it is from Chapter 2, part 2, to get the final extract then you just need to visit Once Upon a Bookcase tomorrow as the final excerpt will be there, enjoy!

When I opened the front door to my house, my body went rigid. I could smell the visitors. Aged parchment, fine wine: Lumine Nightshade’s scent exuded an aristocratic elegance. But her guards filled the house with an unbearable odour, boiling pitch and burnt hair.

“Calla?” Lumine’s voice dripped with honey.

I cringed, trying to gather my wits before I walked into the kitchen with my mouth glued shut. I didn’t want to taste the creatures as well as smell them.

Lumine sat at the table across from her pack’s current alpha, my father. She remained impossibly still, posture perfect, chocolate tresses caught in a chignon at the back of her neck. She wore her typical immaculate ebony suit and crisp high-collared white shirt. Two wraiths flanked her, looming shadow-like just over her slim shoulders.

I sucked in my cheeks so I could bite the insides. It was the only thing that kept me from baring my teeth at the bodyguards.

“Have a seat, my dear.” Lumine gestured to a chair.

I pulled the chair close to my father, crouching rather than sitting in it. I couldn’t relax with the wraiths nearby.

Does she already know about the violation? Is she here to order my execution?

“Little more than a month of waiting left, lovely girl,” she murmured. “Are you looking forward to your union?”

I let out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

“Sure,” I said.

Lumine brought the tips of her fingers together in front of her face.

“Is that the only word you have to offer about your auspicious future?”

My father barked a laugh. “Calla’s not the romantic her mother is, Mistress.”

His tone remained confident, but his gaze fell on me. I ran my tongue along my canines, which were sharpening in my mouth.

“I see,” she said, eyes moving up and down my body.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Stephen, you might teach her better manners. I expect my alpha females to embody finesse. Naomi has always had the utmost grace in the role.”

She continued to watch me, so I couldn’t bare my teeth at her the way I wanted to.

Finesse, my ass. I’m a warrior, not your child bride.

“I thought you might be pleased with the match, dear girl,” she said. “You’re a beautiful alpha. And there hasn’t been a Bane male the likes of Renier before. Even Emile admits that. The union bodes well for all of us. You should be grateful to have such a mate.”

My jaw clenched, but I met her eyes without blinking.

“I respect Ren. He’s a friend. We’ll be fine together.”

A friend . . . sort of. Ren watches me like I’m a cookie jar he wouldn’t mind being caught with his hand in. And he’s not the one who’d pay for that theft. Though I’d been stuck with lock and key from day one of our betrothal, I hadn’t thought playing policeman over our relationship would be that hard. But Ren didn’t like to play by the rules. He was just tempting enough to make me wonder whether giving him a taste might be worth the risk.

“Fine?” Lumine repeated. “But do you desire the boy? Emile would be furious at the idea you might scoff at his heir.” She drummed her fingers on the table.

I stared at the floor, cursing the flames that raced over my cheeks. How the hell does desire matter when I’m not allowed to do anything about it? In that moment I hated her.

My father cleared his throat. “My lady, the union has been set since the children’s birth. The Nightshade and Bane packs remain committed to it. As are my daughter and Emile’s son.”

“Like I said, we’ll be fine,” I whispered. The hint of a growl escaped with my words.

Tinkling laughter brought my eyes back to the Keeper. As she watched me squirm, Lumine’s smile was patronizing. I glared at her, no longer able to hold in my outrage.

“Indeed.” Her gaze moved to my father. “The ceremony must not be interrupted or delayed. Under any circumstances.”

She rose and extended her hand. My father briefly pressed his lips to her pale fingers. She turned to me. I reluctantly took her vellum-like skin in my own hand, trying not to think about how much I wanted to bite her.

“All worthy females have finesse, my dear.” She touched my cheek, letting her nails scrape hard enough to make me flinch.

My stomach lurched.

Her stiletto heels struck a sharp staccato on the tile as she left the kitchen. The wraiths trailed behind her, their silence more disturbing than the unnerving rhythm of her steps. I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my cheek against them. I didn’t breathe again until I heard the front door close.

“You’re awfully tense,” my father said. “Did something happen on patrol?”

I shook my head. “You know I hate wraiths.”

“We all hate wraiths.”

I shrugged. “Why was she here anyway?”

“To discuss the union.”

“You’re kidding.” I frowned. “Just me and Ren?”

My father passed a weary hand over his eyes. “Calla, it would be helpful if you wouldn’t treat the union like a hoop to jump through. Far more is at stake than ‘just you and Ren.’ The formation of a new pack hasn’t occurred for decades. The Keepers are on edge.”

“Sorry,” I said, not meaning it.

“Don’t be sorry. Be serious.”

I sat up straight.

“Emile was here earlier today.” He grimaced.

“What?!” I gasped. “Why?”

I couldn’t imagine a civil conversation between Emile Laroche and his rival alpha.

My father’s voice was cold. “The same reason as Lumine.”

I buried my face in my hands, my cheeks once again on fire.

“Calla?”

“Sorry, Dad,” I said, swallowing my embarrassment. “It’s just that Ren and I get along fine. We’re friends, sort of. We’ve known the union was coming for a long time. I can’t see any problems with it. And if Ren does, that would be news to me. But this whole process would be much easier if everyone would just lay off. The pressure isn’t helping.”

He nodded. “Welcome to your life as an alpha. The pressure never helps. It also never goes away.”

“Great.” I sighed and rose from my chair. “I have homework.”

“Night, then,” he said quietly.

“Night.”

I hope that this has given you a taster of the book, check out the rest of the blog tour to find out more. 

Nightshade Blog Tour Dates

Just wanted to let you all know about the exciting blog tour that Atom have organised for the release of Nightshade, the tour will be visiting Dot Scribbles on Thursday 23rd December where there will be an exclusive extract plus I will be posting my review of this exciting new book.

Book Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Everyone has something to hide especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna.
Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily has a crush on the new girl at school and Hanna is using some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.
How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were and the naughty girls they are now. And guess what? I'm telling.

When I read the back of this book I instantly thought of Gossip Girl (this isn't a bad thing) and it does have a similar feel but i think it is slightly darker but still just as far-featched.
The girls friend Alison went missing over 3 years ago and they have all tried to get on with their lives in separate ways. You get the idea that Alison was very controllong when she was around and this doesn't appear to have changed as she still has a hold over each of them by knowing their deepest, darkest secrets.
The whole story line is based around secrets, the girls all have something to hide. The reader finds out some information but we are left with a lot of questions at the end.
Sara Shepard packs a lot into this book, we have affairs, eating disorders sexuality, shoplifting and so on. All these different elements give the book a really strong pace; there is something happening in each chapter.
I did find it a little hard to keep track of who was who with there being four main characters. I think this will be less confusing as the series goes on and you get to know the characters more and more.
Pretty Little Liars is a really good book for young adult readers and I think it will be an extremely popular series. Everyone likes a good secret and this book is bursting with them. I can't wait to read Flawless which is the second book so I can find out what the girls plan to do next.

Many thanks to Atom for sending me this book to review.